


Never Let Me Go

by FantasticalScribe



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Noctis is a poor scared boy, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 06:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13653132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasticalScribe/pseuds/FantasticalScribe
Summary: After a long day of hunting, the boys decide to crash at a motel due to thunderstorms in the area. The only problem? Noctis is terrified of thunder and tries to hide it, but Ignis knows him better than he thinks.





	Never Let Me Go

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place toward the beginning chapters before all the crazy shit happens! It's my first time writing anything FFXV, so I apologize if the characters aren't completely in character or anything. I just had the idea in mind and couldn't get it out of my head until I wrote it, so I hope you enjoy!

“Weather conditions are poor tonight. Shall we forgo camp and stay somewhere dry tonight?” Ignis asked, turning toward Noctis for confirmation. He didn’t expect him to say no; Noctis never turned down a chance to sleep in a bed.

  
“Yeah, let’s pick the nearest motel and stop there,” Noctis agreed, eyes carefully watching the sky.

  
He could see the dark gray clouds rolling in, blocking out the waning sunlight of the evening. The wind picked up, ruffling his ink black hair, signaling a storm to come. Just great.

  
“Let us be off,” Ignis said, leading the way to the Regalia. “We’ll reconvene in the morning and collect our rewards.”

  
Thankfully, the hunt they had just been on had been mere minutes from the parking spot they had found, and in no time, the foursome were driving down the road in search of a place to stay. As tired as he felt from the hunts they’d done today, Noctis couldn’t relax. Usually he’d melt into the backseat of the Regalia and doze off as soon as he sat, but all he could do was wish for the storm to reverse its direction.

  
Noctis knew it was stupid; he shouldn’t be afraid of a silly thunderstorm when there were much scarier things out there, like the fact that the Niflheim empire was after them. But at least with Niflheim, he could fight them and take control. With a thunderstorm, he couldn’t do anything but cover his ears and cower in fear.

  
Ignis soon found them a motel, parking the Regalia and going to request their lodgings for the night. Noctis slid out of the car, running a hand through his hair as he glanced at the dark clouds enveloping the evening sky. A couple of raindrops landed on his face, urging him to quicken his pace inside the motel. Gladio and Prompto were already inside, having brought in their bags, leaving Noctis with nothing to bring inside but himself.

  
Noctis walked in right as Ignis announced, “They only had one room available, so we’ll have to share beds for the night, unless anyone would prefer to sleep on the floor.”

  
“I don’t mind taking the floor,” Gladio said, leading the way down the hall, bags in hand. “It’ll be more spacious.”

  
“Dibs on the single bed!” Prompto exclaimed, bouncing off after Gladio, his face bright with excitement.

  
Ignis merely sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose where his glasses sat. “Where are they going? They don’t even have the key,” he muttered. With a shake of his head, he ambled down the hallway, casting a glance over his shoulder to peer at Noctis. “If you would like me to sleep on the floor, Noct, I most certainly can.”

  
Noctis followed behind Ignis, shaking his head. They slept on the floor enough when they camped; the least he could do was share a bed for a night. “It’s fine, Specs. Don’t worry about it.”

  
“As you wish.”

  
A booming crash of thunder sounded as soon as they found their motel room, startling Noctis. He jumped, his heart slamming in his chest as Ignis fumbled with putting the key into the lock. Noctis wished he could just take the key himself and open the door so he could rush inside, but he knew it wasn’t Ignis’ fault that the lock was taking some time.

  
Another crack of thunder sounded, this one shaking the motel. It only made Noctis wished he could race into the room and throw himself onto the bed so he could crawl under the sheets and muffle out the sound with a pillow. But he couldn’t, not while his friends were around. Noctis hadn’t exactly admitted his fear of thunderstorms to them, and he intended to keep it that way. It was a stupid fear to have - thunder should be the least of his worries - so he would suck it up and with it. Not to mention the fact that he already imagined Gladio and Prompto snicker about it. He could fight dozens of daemons and MTs, but he was scared of a little thunder? He'd be a joke if they found out.

  
He inhaled deeply as Ignis turned on the lights to the room, curling his hands into fists to keep his fear at bay. The walls were painted an ugly, faded gold with palm trees, with a single window placed opposite of the door. Two beds sat on each side of the window, a nightstand next to each with a lamp. In the corner of the room was a chair, but otherwise, the room was barren.

  
Lightning flashed in the window as they stepped into the room, and Noctis had to fight the instinctive urge to cover his ears, dreading the roar of thunder that would soon crash. He immediately walked to the window and closed the curtains, dropping onto the bed as another round of thunder shook the motel. He winced at the sound, but he only clenched his fists tighter, focusing on his nails digging into his skin as he refused to cover his ears. 

  
“Noct, are you all right?” Ignis asked, face scrunched in concern. He stood a few feet away from Noctis, his voice soft as to not attract attention from Gladio and Prompto, both of whom were splitting the other bed's sheets amongst themselves.

  
Noctis waved off his concern, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just exhausted from the day,” he responded, hoping it would satisfy Ignis.

  
Noctis didn’t want to admit the truth, even though Ignis partly knew about his fear. Noctis had never disclosed it recently, but he had told Ignis about it when they were kids. Just like now, he’d tried to hide it, but Ignis, observant and brilliant even as a child, caught on. Noctis had excused himself to his room immediately after dinner one night, and Ignis had silently followed him. Noctis had snagged one of his comforters and snuck into his closet, wrapping the blanket around himself and covering his ears to drown out the noise. Ignis had quietly joined him, soothing him until the storm had passed.

  
It had been nice, having Ignis’ comfort back then. Thereafter, whenever a thunderstorm hit Insomnia, Ignis made sure to stick by his side, joining him in the closet and telling stories. On nights with really bad storms, Ignis would hold him until he calmed down, and some nights, he’d even had to spend the night with Noctis so that he could sleep.

After a while, Noctis knew that even though Ignis brought him such comfort on nights like those, he couldn’t have the man drop everything for his sake. Ignis already did so much for him that he couldn’t ask this of him anymore, so he’d pretend to be fine so that Ignis could regain some of his life, rather than wasting it on some cowardly prince.

Now, Noctis desperately wished he could pull Ignis close and regain some of the comfort and warmth he remembered from childhood, but at twenty years old, he felt that it would be too childish to act. He could already hear Gladio poking fun and telling him to get over it, and he couldn’t request it of Ignis who still did so much for him.

  
Ignis peered at him a moment longer, his lips pursed as if he wanted to say something more on the topic. He didn’t, much to Noctis’ relief, moving onto arrangements for dinner. Ignis volunteered to pick up some food for them since cooking wasn't an option, and he returned a half hour later with their orders.

  
After dinner, the foursome played a few rounds of cards and King's Knight before deciding to call it a night, each of them drained from the taxing day of hunts. Shutting off the lights, Noctis crawled under the sheets, burying his face in his pillow and closing his eyes. He tucked the sheets under his chin, keeping a tight grip on them in case he needed to pull them over his head at the smallest sound.

  
The mattress sunk a moment later as Ignis climbed in. It wasn’t the same as when they were kids, but having Ignis sleeping beside him offered Noctis a little comfort. The storm had been raging on throughout the night, but distracting himself with food, cards, and King's Knight had kept the fear at bay. But now he lied in silence, rain, thunder, and Ignis’ soft, sleeping breaths the only sounds.

  
Noctis wanted nothing more than to have his own room so that he could cover his ears with the pillow and curl up into a ball as he had as a child, waiting for the storm to pass. But he endured the thunderous night, careful as to not disturb any of his friends as he lied there, awake and terrified of the horrible sounds from the outside. Hours passed, each feeling like an eternity until Noctis had finally began to doze off, the exhaustion of the day settling over him.

  
He was nearly asleep when thunder sounded with a violent boom stronger than before. The sound reverberated throughout the room, shaking the motel hard enough that the walls vibrated. Even the bed shook the slightest bit, and the sound was so startling that Noctis let out a whimper, jarred awake. He shrunk into himself, covering his ears with his hands and shutting his eyes tightly. His heart slammed in his chest, and he wished he were anywhere but here.

  
“Noct?” came a groggy whisper beside him. “Noct, are you all right?”

  
“I-I’m fine,” Noctis lied, trying to keep his voice steady. He really didn’t want to worry Ignis; he had done that enough in his twenty years of life. “Go back to sleep.”

  
Another crash of thunder sounded, and he winced at the sound, chewing his lower lip to distract himself. He pulled the sheets over his head, hoping that Ignis was too groggy to notice.

  
“I should have known,” muttered Ignis, rolling over to face Noctis. “You’re still afraid of the thunder, aren’t you?”

  
Noctis should have known better than to foolishly hope Ignis wouldn’t carefully note his movements. Ignis had the most watchful eye of the group, and he was the mother hen. Noctis knew it would take one hell of a show to convince Ignis not to worry.

  
“I told you, I’m-“

  
Another crash of thunder sounded, cutting off Noctis’ words as he flinched, clutching the sheets tighter. His hand hurt from the strain of the hold, and he knew his knuckles must have turned white from the death grip, but Noctis didn’t care.

  
“I wish you would have told me sooner, Noct. I could have found lodgings elsewhere, away from the storm.”

  
He could feel Ignis shift closer to him as he spoke, and Noctis just wanted to reach out and pull him close. A part of Noctis wished for the same thing. Maybe if he’d told Ignis in confidence, they could have arranged a room elsewhere. But it was too late now; he couldn't change it.

  
“It’s stupid.”

  
“What is?”

  
“ _This_.” Noctis flinched as the thunder roared once more, a loud rumble that shook the motel room once more. Honestly, Noctis wanted to cry from both the embarrassment of being afraid, and from how much he wanted to move to the closet or under the bed – anywhere that could mitigate the sound.

  
“Being afraid of something is far from foolish, Noct. It’s what makes you human.”

  
Ignis’ words brought him a shred of comfort, making him feel like a kid again. For a moment, he forgot about Gladio and Prompto sleeping in the room, and he pictured himself back in Insomnia before the fall. He pictured himself in his room, Ignis next to him, just the two of them against the terrible storm outside.

  
“I just wish it would stop,” he admitted softly, his grip on the sheets loosening. “Both the storm and this stupid fear…”

  
Noctis sucked in a deep breath as another boom sounded, his body tensing once again as his hands released the sheet and clamped against his ears. He felt cool air on him as Ignis peeled away his sheets for the moment, the man’s warm hands gripping tightly on his shoulders. Noctis’ heart lurched in his chest at the familiar touch, but he refused to let himself slip back to when they were kids. He couldn’t do this to Ignis.

  
Noctis opened his eyes and reached to grab the sheet, but Ignis stopped him.

  
“Noct, look at me,” he ordered.

  
Noctis lifted his gaze to meet Ignis’ eyes, their green color shadowed by the darkness of the room. The only light stemmed from the occasional flashes of lighting and the nightlight at the end of the room.

  
“We’re going to perform breathing exercises, all right? Breathe with me. In for four seconds, hold for four seconds, and out for four seconds,” Ignis instructed.

  
Noctis followed his lead, recalling Ignis’ use of this exercise back when they were kids. Honestly, the exercise would have worked, but another boom from the thunder reversed its effects, and Noctis clamped his eyes shut, his hands flying to his ears as he shook his head. 

  
“I-I can’t,” Noctis said, his breathing shaky.

  
“It’s okay, Noct. Come here,” Ignis murmured, shifting closer to Noctis as he adjusted his arms. He wrapped them around Noctis and pulled him to his chest, gently rubbing his back.

  
The embrace was unexpected, but Noctis welcomed the warmth it provided. It was the warmth he needed, the only touch that could comfort him in this moment. He felt like a kid again, lbeing held so close by Ignis. Noctis missed this more than he'd ever thought he would. 

Noctis buried his face in Ignis’ chest, smelling a combination of sweat, honey, and fish from tonight’s dinner. It was an unusual combination, but on Ignis, it worked, and it provided him something to focus on other than the storm.

  
“Talk to me, Specs,” Noctis requested, voice muffled by Ignis’ shirt. “Tell me something, anything.”

  
Ignis nodded, clutching Noctis tighter as he delved into a story, one of the ones that he’d used to tell Noctis on nights like these. Noctis didn’t focus so much on the words as he did Ignis’ voice. He listened to the nuances of his accent as he explained different parts of the story, noted how soft and tender his voice was, a calming sound that seemed to drown out everything else. He could feel Ignis’ voice as he spoke, the rumbling of the man's chest comforting him.

  
Noctis didn’t know how long Ignis told his stories for, but between the gentle touches along his back and his voice, he was lulled into a calmer state of mind, and finally, sleep began to seep into his bones. His body felt heavy, and Ignis felt so warm, much more comfortable than a pillow. As long as Ignis didn’t mind, Noctis didn’t want to move from this position, so he wrapped his arms around Ignis and stayed unmoving.

  
“Thanks, Specs, for everything,” he mumbled, Ignis' hand now softly raking through his hair, the touch gentle and caring.

  
Noctis was awake enough to hear Ignis reply, “Anything for you, Noct,” which only brought a small smile to his face as he drifted into a peaceful slumber.


End file.
